A former Miss USA who was publicly shamed by President Donald Trump and then forced to enter rehab after testing positive for drugs is thanking him for saving her life in an emotional essay.

Tara Conner, who won the title of Miss USA in 2006, opens up in a piece published in USA Today about the dark places her life was heading when she tested positive for cocaine eight months into her year-long reign.

She was in danger of losing her title, but instead President Trump decided to give her another chance if she was able to complete a stay in rehab.

'It was 10 years ago that I got out of treatment, and I thank him for my 10 years of recovery,' writes Conner, 31, who represented Kentucky in the pageant.

'I will always be profoundly grateful. He saved my life and, essentially, made me great again.'